Hunter’s POV Liberty knew there were cells beneath the Shadow Ridge pack house, but she had never seen them. On our way there she told Marcel and I that she had only been outside of Kendrick’s room twice. Once when she was taken there after the slaughter of our pack, and then when she first shifted and Justice made a run for it. She had been back in a way, when she projected and saw Melissa, but still she was only in one room, so we had no way of knowing how to find the women he keeps. It didn’t take long for Didier to find us and lead us to them. Marcel had obviously made him aware of our intentions, and not wanting to disappoint Liberty he made sure we would succeed in our rescue mission. My mind was elsewhere most of the time. I have killed before, that is not what was bothering me, or not entirely, but seeing the state of the pack and the land had made it all seem so much more real. I have my work cut out for me, there is no doubt about that. The pack members I had seen on our
Imelda’s POVEveryone felt the shift in power when Hunter ended Kendrick’s life. Even in the protection of my circle, I felt his venomous life force sinking into the earth ready to begin a new cycle. The plants and trees of the surrounding forest will take that dark energy and cleanse it, transforming it into something good and productive before releasing it back to the world .Marcel is still on tender hooks, his unusual fidgetiness has not gone unnoticed by anyone, but as usual, getting to the bottom of it will have to wait.Hunter must return Kendrick’s body to Shadow Ridge and proclaim himself Alpha, then defeat anyone who challenges him for the title. We don’t foresee any challengers and Vitandi and the Elite Warriors have remained there to ensure the safety of the innocent majority.If I know Vitandi, and I think I do, he will have sniffed out any dissenters and have them holed up in the grotty dungeon. Contrary to common opinion, I am not thrilled about the dragon in our midst
Uriel’s POV The last few days have been a whirlwind of action and commotion. The state of Shadow Ridge was so much worse than it appeared on the surface. We knew Kendrick had run the pack into the ground, but some of the things we discovered caught us completely off guard.It was the second day after the big take over that we discovered it. When I say we, I mean Lottie and Liberty. They had been spending time with the women we rescued and helping them settle in, when one of them mentioned something about a facility. Liberty put two and two together almost immediately, after hearing Averson talk about his experience in a rebellion research facility, and knowing of Kendrick’s ties to the Katasan, she knew that it was a very real probability that Shadow Ridge had served as some sort of satellite facility. Liberty has been distracted with everything going on, but she has been pussy footing around me for days. Everything we cross paths, she goes to say something but is immediately calle
Liberty’s POVIt’s been an emotionally taxing few days, but out of everything that has happened here and at Pine Ridge, the thing that had got to me the most was Isobel.I knew that having another Vampyre and humans on pack land was going to cause a bit of a stir. It’s in our nature to be protective of our territory, and the sheer amount of newcomers has us all on high alert. But that woman is something else entirely.The way she followed Marcel around like a lost little puppy, always after his attention, her skimpy outfits leave absolutely nothing to the imagination, I couln’t help cringing at her blatant desperation.Marcel has ignored her for the most part. Until last night anyway. When she strolled into the main hall to join the pack for dinner, she walked right up to him, bold as anything, and sat right in his lap at the table. The looks that passed between us all were badly hidden and the vein in Claudel's temple must have tripled in size.I wish I could describe the look of sho
Esme’s POVWhen they say the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, they weren’t kidding.I knew there would be a rough road ahead before we could settle into some semblance of a normal life, but I was not prepared for the dirt we dug up under the abandoned school house. My visions have been blinkered recently. Before they were broad and I could see how everyone’s paths were intertwined. Now I only see myself, Hunter and Pine Ridge.Before Hunter made his decision, I had visions of many possible futures, this was not one of them. Hunter is constantly stressed and easily agitated. I’m not saying I blame him, he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. The day he took his place as Alpha, he ended six lives, Kendrick and the five men who challenged him.In the almost couple of weeks since then, there have been half a dozen more challenges and half a dozen more deaths. The people aren’t adjusting to our ways as easily as I had foolishly hoped. Change is hard, I know that, we b
Christian’s POV Yesterday evening I made the grave mistake of mentioning out loud how well everything is going here and at Pine Ridge. Hunter and Esme have found a way to engage their entire pack. They now have a ruling council, overseen by the two of them. It couldn’t have worked out better really, the council members were elected by the people, and they seem to be placated, for now at least. Democracy among wolf packs is rare, but then so is a pack with two very distinct and opposing communities, if that is what works for them, I fully support and respect Hunter’s decision.The women and children we took in have settled in nicely. Most of the women have found mates among our warriors and after Liberty’s little speech, they are embracing the safety and security of the mate bond and our pack. There has been far more going on behind the scenes, counselling, medical treatments, conditioning and training. Liberty and Lottie have worked tirelessly to integrate the refugees into our pack
Zander’s POVWatching Liberty use her own body as a shield snapped me out of it sharpish. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. You know when someone says ‘it was like everything happened in slow motion’? well, I never understood that until right now.Max bubbles to the surface and boils over as the realisation of what Liberty is telling us hits Christian. Caleb’s reaction is stunned silence, which is for the best in this very moment. As usual, I set my own feelings aside to manage my brother and his wolf.His temper has vastly improved, but this is two dozen steps to far for him.I watch for a moment, frozen to the spot as I process what is happening. There is a flash of Obsidian fur and Liberty stands her ground intercepting Max's, would be, assault on Marcel. Seeing my mate and pups in the line of fire releases the hold the ground has on my feet and I jump into the fray.Caleb rushes forward, as I leap over the coffee table to restrain my brother. He and I both know that Caleb may be m
Lottie’s POVI was sat with Imelda and Esme when Christian’s message rang out over the link. We had been excitedly discussing Rosaline’s impending arrival and what that means for the magic circle they want me to join and complete. I’ve been on the fence since they asked me, even under their guidance, I don’t feel like I have enough of a grasp on my magic to do the circle justice.Literally thirty seconds after Christian’s link, Liberty comes puffing through the double doors and running over to our table in the main hall.The three of us were already on our feet and about to go and look for her and find out what on earth is going on. When she reached us, she stopped for a moment to catch her breath. The pups are growing quickly and taking up more room inside her tiny frame every day. Pregnancy does not look comfortable, or as blissful as so many people make out. Then again, twins is bound to be harder on your body than a single pup, I hope. I wonder if little dragon halflings would be